The present invention relates to a novel controlled melting point matrix which can be used to obtain improved comestible products, and a method of making the same. In particular, the present invention alters the melting point of a fat containing matrix by providing a controlled ratio of a shearform saccharide and a fat in the matrix.
Fats and oils are widely used in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. Many naturally occurring edible fats and oils have low melting points. As a result, when incorporated in another food product, the oils or fats tend to migrate out of the mixture imparting an undesirable look and feel to the final product.
A typical example is the separation of peanut oil from peanut butter and its migration into the chocolate layer of a peanut butter candy bar. The resulting bar is no longer covered by a glossy looking chocolate layer, instead it is greasy, sticky and unpleasant to handle.
Another typical example is the tendency of cocoa butter to separate from other chocolate ingredients in conventional chocolate products. As a result, chocolate made with cocoa butter by conventional methods softens easily particularly in summertime and tends to flow or stick to its wrapper. Furthermore, cool weather can engender growths of crystallized cocoa butter on the surface of the chocolate resulting in a discoloration which appears as a white discoloration. This is commonly referred to as blooming.
Several attempts have been devised to remedy the problems caused by the use of low melting fats and oils in fat based culinary products. For instance, chocolates have been made by replacing low melting point fats or oils with fats having higher melting points.
One way to alter fat to increase its melting point is by immobilizing the fat by hydrogenation. Hydrogenation, however, is expensive and leads to undesirable physiological properties in food products.
Immobilization of fats can also be achieved by the use of stabilizers. For example, Canadian Patent No. 979,730 discloses a fat or oil-containing system in which colloidal silicone dioxide is incorporated with the fat. A polyol bridging compound is then added in order to bind the low melting point oil in a stable matrix formed by silicon dioxide particles and the polyol. Although the resulting product shows little change in viscosity at elevated temperatures, it is undesirable because consumers view silicon dioxide as an undesirable synthetic additive.
According to another process described in Swiss Patent No. 519,858, fats have been immobilized by first encapsulating the fat within vesicles or microbeads made of a non-liposoluble envelope which is then incorporated into a chocolate composition.
Swiss Patent Nos. 399,891 and 489,211 disclose the use of a finely ground amorphous sugar mixed with a conched chocolate mass containing sugar in crystallized form to produce a heat-resistant chocolate product. The finely ground amorphous sugar used in these patents is made by a complex process. A concentrated syrup of sugar is cooked under vacuum up to approximately 1-2% moisture and then distributed on plates cooled by water in order to bring the temperature to 80.degree. C. The sugar is then spread in the form of a layer not over 5 millimeters thick, using a mechanical installation. The sugar is then either immediately used or kept in moisture tight containers. Prior to mixing with the other chocolate ingredients, the amorphous sugar must be ground in an apparatus known as a "micronizer", manufactured by Pennsalt Ltd. The grinding operations are executed in a room where a constant relative humidity and temperature must be carefully maintained.
After molding and hermetically packing the product, the chocolate is subjected to a heat treatment which consists of keeping the product at a constant temperature between 20.degree.-35.degree. C. for a period of time from 10-60 days. While this method purportedly produces a heat resistant chocolate, it is costly and time consuming both in the preparation of the amorphous sugar and the storage requirements necessary for the chocolate product of this method.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,011 discloses yet another approach for the use of amorphous sugar in the preparation of milk crumb for use in the manufacture of milk chocolate. The crumb is prepared by mixing milk powder with sugar and cocoa liquor. When submitted to low pressures, the mixture forms a "fresh crumb" where the sugar is amorphous. Compressing the fresh crumb product under a pressure of at least 100 kilograms/cm.sup.2 causes the amorphous sugar to crystallize forming the final milk crumbs. While this method allegedly produces a heat resistant milk chocolate, it has many steps, it requires expensive equipment and is time consuming.
Another approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,980,192 and 4,664,927. These patents describe the use of polyols which must either be a liquid or in a solution when mixed with the fat or oil. The fat-containing system must be in a somewhat flowable form when the polyol is added. This may be achieved by mixing the fat-containing material with the polyol at a slightly elevated temperature. In addition, it is necessary to hold the mixture of the polyol and fat-containing material in storage for periods of time ranging up to an hour or more in order to reach a desired viscosity level before further processing the material. Obviously, this process causes problems if the mixture of polyol and fat-containing material is stored too long. Lengthy storage causes the polyol mixture to become solidified.
Other approaches are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,166. This patent describes attempts that have been made to produce a heat resistant chocolate by incorporated crystalline hydrophilic substances such as dextrose, maltose, inverted sugar, fructose, xylose, mannitol or sorbitol as humectants and exposing the chocolate, after casting to a moist atmosphere for extended periods of time. The products prepared by this process have many problems. They have an undesirable surface appearance as the result of sugar bloom; they retain ready flowability of fat immediately below the surface of the chocolate; and they require costly and time consuming storage requirements.
While each of the above approaches have resulted in chocolate compositions resistant to elevated temperatures, the techniques and additives are expensive. Moreover, some of the procedures require synthetic materials, which are generally perceived as undesirable by the consumer. In addition, the incorporation of a stabilizer in chocolate may constitute a sufficient departure from the standard identity for "chocolate". Such perception could deprive the manufacturer of the ability to call a particular product a "chocolate" product.
It would, therefore, be extremely desirable to be able to provide natural low melting oils and fats in a matrix which can have a carefully engineered melting or flow point higher than the normal melting or flow point of that fat or oil. For example, by increasing the melting point of a conventional peanut butter spread, an improved, heat resistant peanut butter solid can be obtained which is resistant to peanut oil migration and is an excellent component in peanut butter candy bars. Similarly, it would be highly advantageous to produce a heat resistant chocolate product in which the preparation of the amorphous sugar used in the chocolate and the storage requirements of the product are not time consuming and costly.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a matrix whose melting point can be carefully controlled. Another object of the present invention is to provide improved comestibles having a flow point temperature higher than that of a mixture of the nonprocessed ingredients. A further object of the invention is to provide improved chocolate and peanut butter containing products which have improved resistance to flow or melting under summertime conditions. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new method for producing improved products having controlled melting point in which the shortcomings of the prior art are overcome.
Other and further objects of the present invention will become apparent in the following description and its scope will be pointed out with the appended claims.